Page 18

Malachi

Two days.

Two days since I had kissed Jade, and two days since she had spoken to me.

I didn’t care. I wasn’t surprised, either. Jade told me she hated me and completely fell apart in my arms.

She needed space.Realspace this time.

But I couldn’t keep wondering if she was okay. I couldn’t keep worrying about her day after day.

Two days.

I couldn’t wait any longer.

“Looking for something?” Adeline chirped beside me. The dining hall in the castle was crowded, I avoided it as much as possible, keeping to my own personal dining room.

But Jade had to eat. She would show up sometime.

“No,” I lied. “And I’m busy.”

“Right,” Adeline said, completely ignoring mybusywarning. “Jade just left,” she said.

My stomach dropped.

“I wasn’t looking for her,” I said. “I don’t care where she is.”

“You’re a terrible liar,” she said. “You should work on that if you’re going to be a convincing king.”

“Do you need something, Adeline?” I asked, stopping in my tracks to face her. If Jade wasn’t here, there was no use for me to linger.

“Yes,” she said, tossing her hands onto her hips. “I want to check in with my brother. You’ve been…you’ve been all over the place lately. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

I took a long breath. “I’m fine,” I lied. “I just have a lot going on.”

“And you haven’t made up with Jade?” she questioned.

Saints, this woman was going to drive me over the edge. “I would prefer not to talk about her, okay?”

Adeline opened her mouth to argue, but her attention was caught by something behind me.

“Mal,” she said quietly, not taking her eyes off whatever it was she was staring at. Her features morphed, one by one, from my sassy sister to a terrified girl.

I spun around, looking for what she was staring at.

And I drew my sword.

“Stop it,” Jade’s voice hissed through the open room. “Just calm down!”

It wasn’t Jade I was worried about, though. Her father stumbled around in front of her, barely standing.

How could he possibly have gotten drunk again?

“Who the Saints is that?” Adeline whispered to me.

I fought to keep my anger at bay. Jade wouldn’t want me to step in. The last time I interfered, I nearly ruined everything. “That’s Jade’s father,” I answered.

Adeline’s sharp inhale told me she was not expecting that answer.